Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 18, 2021

400 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle report →

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 400 357 380
Slaughter cattle 400 357 380

Compared to last week : Slaughter steers were steady, Slaughter heifers sold mostly 1.00 higher, and Slaughter Holstein steers were steady. Packer demand was good to moderate on a steady offering today.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1190 1112 19 105.00–109.00 $107.87 $1,200
1242–1343 1288 9 108.00–111.50 $109.80 $1,414
1382–1480 1450 45 101.00–114.50 $110.86 $1,607
1493–1597 1540 52 100.00–116.25 $112.07 $1,726
1620–1870 1787 3 100.00–103.00 $100.91 $1,803

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1165 1094 9 97.00–102.00 $99.48 $1,088
1320–1390 1344 25 109.00–114.00 $112.93 $1,518
1407–1525 1443 53 105.00–115.50 $112.60 $1,625

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1288 1073 34 75.00–84.75 $82.22 $882
1035–1358 1194 11 72.50–101.00 $78.90 $942 +0.60
1233 1233 3 87.00 $87.00 $1,073
1143–1572 1400 83 91.00–99.00 $95.70 $1,340
1335–1648 value added 1516 22 100.25–103.00 $100.92 $1,530
1520–1653 1609 6 81.00 $81.00 $1,303
1600–2135 1668 24 94.00–99.00 $97.96 $1,634 -2.24

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What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.